lazy Saturday

Hoorah! Done with one week of classes! I'm glad it's the weekend, it's nice to just relax and get through a bit more of the readings, take naps, get groceries, etc. Finally got to do some laundry tonight, which will be VERY nice seeing as how all my clothes I have right now fit into a tiny carry-on bag and I've been here for over a week! Also, tonight I made dinner: sauteed up some onions, bell peppers, and garlic, added tomatoes, basil, and tomato sauce, and served it over gnocchi! It was pretty tasty.

On Friday we went to Trajan's Column and Market, and to the Pantheon. I had been to both already since coming here, but it was cool to learn more about them. I forgot that Raphael was buried at the Pantheon (yes I took a picture by his grave, which was maybe a little weird...heh), and that both the circumference and height of the dome are 144 feet, so that it could enclose a perfect circle. Pretty neat!

Here I am at the Pantheon
After we visited the Pantheon, Lisa took us all out for gelato to what is now my new favorite gelato place! I'll definitely be going back there again. They had all kinds of flavors, and after much thought I finally chose white chocolate and biscotto, topped with a dollop of fresh whipped cream. Mmmm!

On the way home, a couple of us decided to stop in at the giant building opposite Bernini's Four Rivers fountain in the Piazza Navona. It turned out to be this really beautiful, highly decorated church:

I wish photos could capture how amazing these churches are. Walking into one is just breathtaking; there is so much art and marble and gold everywhere! We are not going to many churches at all as a group, so some of the girls from my apartment and I are thinking about doing a little "church tour" of our own, because there are so many beautiful ones in Rome!

Also yesterday I met this dashing Italian man...haha

Last night a group of us went to the Spanish Steps, which was a lot of fun. Getting everyone organized to go was kind of a complicated process, as well as finding a place that would sell us a bottle of wine so late at night, but it worked out in the end. It's maybe one or two miles away and a pretty nice walk. It was really relaxing to just stand at the top of the stairs and look over Rome at night. The weather was perfect, and the city lights and various church domes made for a lovely view. There were fireworks somewhere but we couldn't see them.


The people-watching was pretty great. Mostly we watched rose venders prey on unsuspecting tourists. Here's how it works. A random guy comes up to a couple and gives the lady a red rose. She, of course, is flattered. Then, one of two things usually happens: he might ask for the euro after a moment or two, and the man doesn't want to look like a cheapskate in front of his girlfriend, or have her think that he doesn't want to buy her a rose. So he pays the euro, and the vendor leaves. OR, the vendor gives the lady a rose, the couple walks away, he follows them and gives her one or two more roses. She smiles and thanks him. Then he kind of stalks them for a while, and taps the guy on the shoulder, and demands some money. At this point the man gets angry, and the woman is uncomfortable, and the flower vendor starts harassing them a bit and pointing at the roses and yeling, and sometimes even pushing the guy around, until they either pay up or give the roses back. We tried to gesture to the people not to take the roses but they still did. Argh!

The street vendors can be pretty annoying. They sell the most useless things, of course the usual fake handbags and sunglasses, but also noisemakers, cheap toys, chunks of goo that magically become the shape of a face, ugly parosals (see below) etc, etc. I guess it's just a part of being in a tourist center!
Mona was planning on taking us to the beach tomorrow, but it looks like the weather will be bad so we're going to the flea market instead! I'm really excited--apparently it's the biggest flea market in the world, so I'm hoping to browse around for a while and find some good stuff. :-)

Pizza, Colloseum, etc

I've been too busy writing people postcards to write in my actual journal, so here are some photos and stuff instead!

The past few days have been busy but pretty awesome. For the presentations, we went to the Colosseum, Ara Pacis, and the Baths of Caracalla.

Last night we had pizza down by Piazza Navona. I can't remember what it was called but it was definitely the best pizza I've had so far in Rome! We had to wait FOREVER but it was definitely worth it.

Mmmmm!

Went to the Baths of Caracalla yesterday. Here is one section of the ruins of what must have been an amazing bath system. It would have been faced in marble, gold, mosaics, etc


Here we are at the Colusseum! (as gladiators)


It was amazing.. again, hard to imagine what it actually would have looked like back then.

The other night a few of us decided to go check out the Fountain of Trevi at night to see if it was as spectacular as we had heard. It was kind of a long walk and we got lost, but then a super friendly guy at a gelato place gave us samples of gelato and pointed us in the right direction so we found it eventually. And it WAS spectacular! But also very crowded.



While on the way to the Fountain of Trevi, we passed this little old shop called Alina Accessories. It had a bunch of huge fake diamonds in the window. Classy!

This is where Giordano Bruno was burnt to death by the Inquisition way back in 1600. There is a big statue in the Campo dedicated to him and it's kind of a symbol of free speech.. also, a good place to hang out and eat pastries from the Forno!

As always, there is still a ton of reading to do. It's not as unmanageable as it seemed to be before the class started, though; there is still time to explore and have fun :-)

I FINALLY was able to find some stamps today, so if I'm sending you a postcard, you might actually get it before I come home!!

Days 2 and 3

The past few days have been so busy, I don't even know where to start!

We moved into the apartments Monday. I was really lucky and was placed into an apartment right on the Campo de' Fiori, about 2 minutes away from where class is! (some people are a 10-15 minute walk away, by the Colosseum.. which would also be pretty awesome, I guess). Anyway, I LOVE THE CAMPO and our apartment! view from my bedroom window:

The Campo has a market every morning, from 5 am to 2 pm. They sell all kinds of stuff, especially fruits, veggies, pasta, and wine, and also some fish, jewelry, clothing, etc. I LOVE the energy of it! The market is always loud and chattery, everything is bright and colorful, and wherever you are you can hear street musicians playing. All the different restaurants and bakeries and food shops keep their doors open so it smells delicious (except by the fish stands, which just smell fishy!)


If you want a bit of history (or what I can remember from what Lisa said about it yesterday), the name Campo de' Fiori means "field of flowers" in Italian: it used to be a meadow. The piazza was built on the ruins of the Pompey Theatre, and some of the buildings still follow the curve of its walls. It's been a marketplace area for centuries, and the surrounding streets are named for different trades. It was also a common site for public executions, and the philosopher Giordano Bruno was burned alive by the Inquisition because they felt his ideas were too dangerous. There is a big statue of him right in the middle of the square, where he was burned. Here it is in the evening when the market is gone..


Still trying out some of the many cafes and bakeries. There is just so much good food! One bakery right on the Campo makes really simple but AMAZING sandwiches. It's all in the bread.. thin, salty, crusty, olive oil-y...it's fantastic. And this morning we went to a cafe that had wonderful cappucinos for only 1.10 euro. The pastries look scrumptious as well. Will definitely be back.

I am slowly learning a few Italian words, but not really putting too much effort into it yet. It's too easy to just speak English! Most people who work at shops and restaurants generally know some English, so I tend to just fall back on it. At the same time, though, I do want to move beyond the "American tourist" stereotype; I'm going to be here for a whole month, after all!

On Tuesday, Lisa and Mona took us out to a delicious 4-course Italian dinner. We had a variety of appetizers, then a pasta dish, meat dish, and dessert (tirimisu). For the pasta dish, I ordered a spinach-mozzarella ravioli...it was exquisite:


third course: veal, prosciutto, and the best potatoes ever
The wine was apparently pretty good but it was way too strong for me. However we got some good wine tasting in the next night! There will be an official wine tasting at the same wine shop next week along with a kind of "Wine 101" class. Hoorah!

Classes look like they're going to be pretty interesting despite the fact that we have to do a TON of reading. Our art history class has just been presentations so far. Yesterday we went to the Roman Forum and the Arch of Titus and listened to 45-ish minute presentations about them.

Some photos of the forum:









and a couple more at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Again, there are more photos of these two days on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/alinamarie?ref=profile#/album.php?aid=2017732&id=1577370028&ref=mf

This blog will probably always be a couple days late...I already have tons more pictures to post and things to write about! Oh, and we're going to the beach this Sunday...pretty excited for that :)

Day 1

So today was basically a day of wandering around Rome, getting lost, and taking photos! Maggie, Michelle and I explored a bit and went to our presentation sites for the art history class. (we were all assigned monuments, buildings, etc, to research and do 45 minute presentations on). I have "Obelisks in Rome" so it's a bit harder because there are pretty much no books on obelisks...argh! I think I'm just going to focus on three or four obelisks near the Rome Center.

I've been pretty much living on pizza and pasta for the last 2 days! Yes! But once we move into the apartments there should be more cooking, and I know they sell fresh food at the Campo. :)


Anyway, pictures!

at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Porta Pia

Colosseum

walking down the street...I love the cobblestones!

at the Fonte Acqua Paola


view from the fonte


there were all kind of cool streets!

fiume tevere


fountain of the four rivers!

For more photos, check out this facebook album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2017556&id=1577370028&saved#/album.php?aid=2017556&id=1577370028

Looking forward to moving in to the apartment tomorrow!